


The Loss of a Possibility

by WritingBlock



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 01:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8778502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingBlock/pseuds/WritingBlock
Summary: "I'm Hermione Granger. This will be my first time to Hogwarts and I'm-oh what did those rude boys call me...oh yes-I'm a muggleborn. It's nice to meet you." She talked really fast and her hands were everywhere: in her curls, on her chin, rubbing her trousers and shirt smooth. "I hope you don't mind if I read. I love to read. In fact, I've already read all of our course books a minimum of three times and memorized four of them by heart!" He gulped. What was he supposed to say to that?
"Of course the only reason I did so was because I have to make the best grades otherwise I'll be expelled! I-" Neville blinked as she broke off, looking up at her to see what was wrong. Her hands were clasped on her lap and she was staring at them, her cheeks a dusty pink.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is also over on my FFN account!  
> Be warned: Unedited

Neville Longbottom was nervous. It was his first time on the Hogwarts Express, he was alone, Trevor kept squirming and trying to get away, and his grandmum just kissed his cheek twice in front of a bunch of Slytherin's! Not that he had anything against his grandmum, but after she had left the group of green clad teenagers had all sneered at him and then made a fuss about incest and how he was disgusting and definitely a Hufflepuff.

"Oh, this is going terrible." He muttered to himself as he paced down the hall, his eyes frantically searching for an empty compartment, or a compartment with someone his age that he didn't already know in it. Eventually he found an empty car all the way in the back and settled down, his hand going to his pocket to stroke his familiar. Trevor the Toad croaked as warm fingers glided over his slime before disappearing. They sat in silence for a moment and then the door burst open. A girl with a mass of curly brown hair and muggle clothes fell into a heap at his feet. When he looked out the door he saw a mass of older Slytherin's, the same ones who had sneered at him earlier actually, laughing and walking away.

"I'm so sorry about that." Neville's eyes widened as the girl apologized, one of her small hands reaching up to brush her hair out of her face. She had pale skin, dotted with freckles here and there, and brilliant brown eyes that seemed to switch between dirt brown, sunshine gold, and a soft green. Not that he was paying attention to that at all.

"D-don't worry about it." He waved his hand and then watched as she sat down across from him, her face lighting up as the train began to move.

"I'm Hermione Granger. This will be my first time to Hogwarts and I'm-oh what did those rude boys call me...oh yes-I'm a muggleborn. It's nice to meet you." She talked really fast and her hands were everywhere: in her curls, on her chin, rubbing her trousers and shirt smooth. "I hope you don't mind if I read. I love to read. In fact I've already read all of our course books a minimum of three times and memorized four of them by heart!" He gulped. What was he supposed to say to that?

"Of course the only reason I did so was because I have to make the best grades otherwise I'll be expelled! I-" Neville blinked as she broke off, looking up at her to see what was wrong. Her hands were clasped on her lap and she was staring at them, her cheeks a dusty pink.

"Ar-are you alright?" Hermione nodded, her curls bouncing and once more falling into her face. "Well then why did you stop talking?"

"It's just...the kids at my last school didn't really like me talking that much. They said I was just a-" She cut herself off once again with a look of despair, her head turning to allow her to look out the window. Ah, she had been bullied. That explained a lot.

"Oh. We-well my name is Neville Longbottom and this is al-also my first year at Hogwarts. I'm what is known as a P-" He grimaced, took a breath and continued. "Pureblood. It's nice to meet you t-to Hermione Granger. I haven't really read through all of o-our course books yet. I have skimmed through them though." She smiled at him, her teeth a nice white colour and leaned forward. Her hands were no longer clasped in her lap but braced next to her, allowing her to lean forward without falling onto her face.

"Hi Neville. Umm…" She blushed again and looked up shyly, hope glistening in her eyes. "What do you think your favourite class is going to be?" He smiled and reached into his pocket.

"I really like plants so I'm going to Herbo-" Neville froze, his hand still in his pocket. Hermione quickly grew worried as his complexion paled and he dashed out of his seat. The curly haired girl stared in shock as her new, friend?, crawled around on his hands and knees in their compartment. She couldn't help but wonder as she watched if this was something that the wizarding world did as a hobby.

"Neville? Is everything okay?" He looked up at her, his eyes panicked.

"I have a familiar named Trevor! He's a toad about this big, he croaks all the time and he's this really weird green. My Grandmum gave him to me as a gift!" Hermione blinked before nodding and getting down on her knees next to him. She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find him Neville. I promise."

_.oO0Oo. _

That was the first time Neville felt he had had a friend. Then things went downhill from there. Hermione was truly brilliant. She knew the answer to every question asked in every class, how to perform any spell asked of them, and she even managed to help him find Trevor once or twice a week! The only problem? The other students in Gryffindor didn't seem to like her that much and what with him being a doormat for them he couldn't stand up for her like he wanted to.

"Trevor. I hope you never find a girl. It's hard work and she's not even technically mine!" The two were outside by the Black Lake looking at some of the Fauna for a paper assigned in Herbology. Hermione was in the library doing extra work for Potions to make up for the explosion he had caused that morning.

"She's really nice, and she talks to me, but sometimes I can't understand half of what she's saying you know? And she's the only one who's not mean to me either. I just feel bad that everybody keeps messing on her and I don't know what to do!" He looked at his familiar who had been content with resting in a small puddle the whole time. Trevor croaked back at him and Neville let a grin take over his face.

_.oO0Oo. _

Neville glared silently at Ron from across the table in the Great Hall. How could he be such an idiot? Hermione had helped him in Charms and instead of thanking her he made her cry! He suddenly found himself wishing that the Slytherin's at 9 and ¾ 's had been right and he had been sorted into Hufflepuff with Hermione. Everything would be so much better.

"TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! Thought you ought to know." Neville's mouth dropped open as everybody stared in silence at the DADA teacher. It had to be a joke. Had to be. It was then the screaming and the panic started. He threw the fork that he had held down on his plate and stood up, his eyes searching the table for his best friend. (Besides Trevor of course.) No matter how hard he looked, and he looked pretty hard, he couldn't see her. Even when everybody was lined up and going out in an orderly fashion, he still didn't see those familiar brown curls. He had to do something.

"Percy! Percy!" He ran up to the head of the line and tugged on the fifth year's sleeve. The red head gave a loud sigh before turning his stare on the tiny first year who was probably wanting a hand to hold.

"Yes Longbottom? What is it?" Neville balked at the annoyed tone for a moment before puffing his chest up and staring at his feet.  
"Hermione's not here. She's somewhere crying because of something Ron said that she overheard. Sh-shouldn't we let somebody know?" He was blushing now, he could feel the heat building up in his cheeks as the Weasley stared at him.

"Merlin's Saggy Pants!" All of the first year's jumped as Percy began to rant. "Why didn't you tell me sooner!? Fred, George, I know you two are jokesters but I need to you take the rest of this lot up to the common room. Granger is missing and with the troll on the lose we don't know what could happen. I'm going to Dumbledore to let him know and if I find out that you took a detour or decided to play a prank, not only will I tell Mum, I'll bloody tell Bill and Charlie and tie you and throw you at them!" With a twirl of his robes he was gone, dashing down the stairs and disappearing around the corner in seconds. Most of Gryffindor house stood staring with their eyes wide and jaws dropped. It wasn't every day that Prim-and-Proper Percy cursed, ran, and threatened his brother in one breath.

"Alright you lot!"

"You heard the big man!"

"First and Second years in the middle,"

"The rest of the years spread out to form a circle around them!"

"If we remember correctly,"

"The Common Room is two flights up!"

"Not so hard!" The twins rallied everybody up with the help of the other prefect's and they were soon tucked away safely in the Common Room. Neville sat in an armchair, his robes still on and Trevor in one hand as he stared at the entrance. He wasn't going to sleep until Hermione was back.

It was three hours later that she came stumbling in with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, all three of them covered in dust but grinning and laughing together. Panic hit the Longbottom Heir as he watched them walk over to the stairs.

"Thank you for saving me. I would be dead if it weren't for you two." She looked down at her feet and Neville's heart sank. He was losing his best friend before his eyes and she didn't even realize it.

"Don't worry about it Hermione. It was our fault," At this Harry glared at Ron for the span of two seconds before turning his softened gaze back on the bookworm. "And we were happy to help. You may be annoying sometimes but that doesn't mean we wanted you to get hurt or to disappear." Hermione stared at the dark haired boy for a minute before bursting into tears and throwing herself at him in a hug.

"Th-thank y-ou-u! N-no on-one's ever s-said that t-to me be-e-fore!" Harry turned a wide eyed gaze to Ron, who shrugged, before slowly patting her back.

"Alright, you can let go now." She pulled herself away slowly and whipped her face with her sleeve.

"Okay." Deep breath. "Goodnight you two."

"Goodnight." The three waved at each other before the two boys headed upstairs, their steps echoing loudly in the sudden silence.

"H-hermione?" His best friend gasped and whirled around, a hand on her chest as she tried to stop the fear from sinking it's grip into her again.

"Neville! Oh please don't scare me like that! I just escaped a mountain troll!" She rushed over and hugged him. "Are you alright? I was in the bathroom when the troll came and if Harry and Ron hadn't of burst in when they did I would probably be dead! Oh it was horrible, the smell, the violence." She sat down next to him with a shudder and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Wow. I'm glad you're okay." Neville was quiet, his thoughts still on the fact that his best friend had formed a bond with two other people. People who had saved her life and gone to battle with her. Well, not really, but it was close. His grandmum had told him that that was how his parents got together and once that had happened they pretty much stayed to themselves. And as he listened to Hermione describe it in detail he knew that he would be losing his best friend to this comrade she had formed.

Months later he was proven correct when she hexed him, left him in the common room, and went to save the school from Quirrell with the newly dubbed "Golden Trio." It hurt. It hurt more than he cared to mention.

* * *

 

Neville grinned and took another sip of his butterbeer as he answered the question Ron had asked.

"My oldest regret? Not going after our 'Mione here when that troll happened our first year." He leaned back and finished off the drink, his gaze lingering on Ron's arm wrapped around Hermione's shoulders possessively. "I knew she wasn't in the Great Hall and instead of running after her to save her life I told Percy and went to wait in the Common Room like the Coward I am." He toasted his empty glass to the sky and then pushed back from the table.

"I'll see you guys later. It was nice catching up but Hogsmeade weekend is over in ten minutes and I have to round up the students. Ron and Hermione Weasley stood up as well, both of them walking around the table to say farewell. He got a friendly pat on the back from Ron and when he went to shake Hermione's hand he got a glare in return.

"You know I don't shake hands Professor Longbottom." She scolded him before throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Ron chuckled and Neville cursed the flash of pain that went through him as she stepped back and under Ron's arm.

"I know Mrs. Weasley." She frowned. "But it's fun to rile you up sometimes."

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if I'll add more to this or not. I don't think I will, but I guess there is some potential for a story here. *Shrugs* Oh well! XD


End file.
